2023–24 Canadian Ice Dance: News and Updates

[Colonel Green]

Looking ahead to the new season, ice dance will once again be expected to be the country's flagship discipline going into a home World Championships. The senior field is now getting quite crowded, while a lot of question marks exist around what the junior dance field will look like.

Grand Prix assignments
Gilles & Poirier (SCI & Cup of China)
Fournier Beaudry & Sorensen (France & Finland)
Lajoie & Lagha (SkAm & Cup of China)
Lauriault & Le Gac (France & NHK)
Fabbri & Ayer (SCI)
Lanaghan & Razgulajevs (SCI)
Bashynska & Beaumount (Finland)

Real shame that Makita & Gunara's illness last year cost them their Grand Prix debut, hopefully they get another chance in the future.

 

[yurokis40]

don`t understand why so many mid tier US teams got 2 assignments , while Bashynska and beaumont world junior medallists only got one, they should have gotten 2.

 

[Karen-W]

don`t understand why so many mid tier US teams got 2 assignments , while Bashynska and beaumont world junior medallists only got one, they should have gotten 2.

Gosh - have you looked at where BashBeau rank on the SB list compared to those "mid-tier US teams"?

Zingas/Kolesnik 16, Pate/Bye 21, Bratti/Somerville 23, Bashynska/Beaumont 32. Maybe you should ask Skate Canada why they gave 1 assignment each to Fabbri/Ayer 36 and Lanaghan/Razgulajevs 37 instead of making sure BashBeau got a 2nd...

 

[manhn]

What's the reason for Bashynskya & Beaumount only getting one GP, and not going to Skate Canada?

 

[Colonel Green]

What's the reason for Bashynskya & Beaumount only getting one GP, and not going to Skate Canada?

I imagine it's all the competition for assignments -- not to mention, of course, that the obvious team to get bumped would be Molly & Dmitre, but they have the same coaches as Nadiia & Peter, so it's doubtful that Team Lane was pushing for that.

 

[SidelineSkater]

@Karen-W does an amazing job of tracking things (as do several other posters here).

She compiled this handy-dandy list of replacements in the GP assignments thread. Maybe Skate Canada thought B/B had a good chance of getting a 2nd assignment out of the gate OR hoped they'd pickup a 2nd with some withdrawls. Depending on how the chips fall, they could still get a 2nd. Wang/Liu will grab a host pick from China. The two American teams might get skipped depending on if there are already three US teams entered (every event except NHK)

Ice Dance 1-10
Smart/Dieck (SkAm)
McNamara/Spiridonov (France)
Ignateva/Szemko (Espoo)
Wang/Liu (SCI)
Brown/Brown (SCI)
Orihara/Pirinen (Espoo)
Dupayage/Nabais (France)
Bashynska/Beaumont (Espoo)
Harris/Chan (SkAm)
Bekker/Hernandez

 

[PRlady]

I love our US ice dancers and B/B as well, but my first choice for a spot is Bekker/Hernandez. Hoping they do well enough in a Challenger to get a GP replacement spot.

 

[yurokis40]

If the judging is fair there is a good chance our top three teams make the GP final, I just hope LALA don`t get screwed over when they go up against the boring green and parsons in america.

 

[Wyliefan]

I love our US ice dancers and B/B as well, but my first choice for a spot is Bekker/Hernandez. Hoping they do well enough in a Challenger to get a GP replacement spot.

Much as I love B/B, it would be nice for B/H to get a spot. They did so well last season, and it must be frustrating to be without a spot while they see the teams they competed with last year getting them.

 

[coralline]

I imagine it's all the competition for assignments -- not to mention, of course, that the obvious team to get bumped would be Molly & Dmitre, but they have the same coaches as Nadiia & Peter, so it's doubtful that Team Lane was pushing for that.

And Dmitre is their coach‘s son so I guess that‘s understandable…

 

[flatfoot]

I’m very sad that B/B did not get two assignments and that B/H did not get a spot. I’m also sad that the new Irish team S/F didn’t get a spot as I know they have competed previously at Grand Prix events and I think they have a higher ranking than some of the other teams who have spots at 21st

 

[Wyliefan]

S/F have to sit out until the end of November because of the country switch.

 

[Dobre]

It was a very fair division of dance berths. One can be sad about the cutoffs being determined where they were, but it's clear the people doing the selecting went right down the line in sending out assignments. They simply had to cut off double invites and single invites at some point, and they did so. The only exception to this that I can think of is that Mrazkova & Mrazek received 2 non-host berths over McNamara & Spiridinov who had 1. Or if you are looking at the WS list rather than the SB list, you could say the only exception is that Mrazkova & Mrazek received 2 non-host berths over Harris & Chan who received 1. In either case, I think it's safe to say that Mrazkova & Mrazek got some credit for winning Junior Worlds.

Much as I love B/B, it would be nice for B/H to get a spot. They did so well last season, and it must be frustrating to be without a spot while they see the teams they competed with last year getting them.

Bekker & Hernandez were obviously on the bubble for one invite, but for clarity's sake, Simova & Aksenov and Gauthier & Thieren also competed as juniors last season and did not get an invitation.

 

[Sylvia]

Bringing this over here from the 2023-24 NextGen thread:

The entries for the 2023 NextGen Simulation Competition [July 22-23] have been posted by Skate Ontario:
....
Junior Dance - https://www.skateontario.org/results/NG24JULY/24NG-JrDance-EL.pdf

Victoria Carandiuc / Andrei Carandiuc, CPA Du Roussillon/CPA Du Roussillon QC [Nov2]
Auréa Cinçon-Debout / Earl Jesse Celestino, CPA Ville Mont-Royal/CPA Saint-Laurent QC [Nov3]
Charlotte Chung / Axel MacKenzie, Scarboro FSC/North Toronto SC ON [Nov1]
Jamie Fournier / Everest Zhu, CPA de Boucherville Inc./CPA de Boucherville, Inc. QC [new]
Emma Goodstadt / Christian Bennett, Scarboro FSC/Scarboro FSC ON [new]
Jordyn Lewis / Noah McMillan, Ilderton SC/Ilderton SC ON [J4]
Savanna Martel [J13] / William Oddson, Calalta FSC/Huntington Hills SC AB | NT | NU [new]
Chloe Nguyen / Brendan Giang [J3], Ice Palace FSC/Champs Int’l Skating Centre of BC ON [new]
Dana Sabatini-Speciale / Nicholas Buelow, Toronto CS & CC/Barrie SC ON [J6]
Layla Veillon / Alexander Frank Brandys, Ilderton SC/Ilderton SC ON [J5]

ETA:

2023 Skate Ontario Sectional Series - Orleans, ON - July 20-23, 2023

Senior
Emmy Bronsard / Jacob Richmond CPA St Lambert / CPA St Lambert QC [S9]
Lily Hensen / Nathan Lickers Ilderton SC / Ilderton SC ON [S7]
Molly Lanaghan / Dmitre Razgulajevs Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC ON [S6]
Miku Makita / Tyler Gunara Inlet SC / Champs Int'l Skating Centre of British Columbia BC | YT [S8]
Romy Malcolm / Kobi Chant [J13] Champs Int’l Skating Centre of British Columbia / Calalta FSC BC | YT [new; she's Canadian & competed in 1 JGP for USA last year]
Alyssa Robinson / Jacob Portz Calalta FSC / Calalta FSC AB | NT | NU [S10]

Junior
Lauren Batka / Jacob Yang North Point Skating Academy / North Point Skating Academy ON [J10]
Nicole Bolender / Aiden Dotzert Kitchener - Waterloo SC / Kitchener - Waterloo SC ON [J12]
Sophia Gover / Billy Wilson French [from GBR] Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC ON [new]
Alisa Korneva / Kieran MacDonald Kitchener - Waterloo SC / Kitchener - Waterloo SC ON [J7]
Caroline Kravets / Jacob Stark Kitchener - Waterloo SC / Kitchener - Waterloo SC ON [N6]
Chloé Mentha / Émile Deveau CPA St-Michel / CPA St-Michel QC [N5]
Addison Pehl / Daniel Yu [J11] Calalta FSC / Calalta FSC AB | NT | NU [new]
Hilda Taylor [FIN last season?] / Nolen Hickey [J9] SC Brampton-Chinguacousy / SC Brampton-Chinguacousy [new]

Quebec Summer Championships, August 10-13 in Pierrefonds (Canadian dance entries as of June 28):

Senior
Emmy Bronsard/Jacob Richmond S9
Alicia Fabbri Paul Ayer
Sandrine Gauthier/Quentin Thieren J2
Lily Hensen/Nathan Lickers S7
Alyssa Robinson/Jacob Portz S10

Junior
Victoria Carandiuc/Andre Carandiuc N2
Auréa Cinçon-Debout/Earl Jesse Celestino N3
Jamie Fournier/Everest Zhu (new)
Audra Gans/Michael Boutsan (new)
Jordyn Lewis/Noah McMillan J4
Chloé Mentha/Émile Deveau N5
Layla Veillon/Alexander Brandys J5

 

[cygnus]

What happened to Chiama ben Khelifa? She and Everest Zhu looked good early in the season, but they disappeared before Nationals. Injury?

 

[almiranara]

What happened to Chiama ben Khelifa? She and Everest Zhu looked good early in the season, but they disappeared before Nationals. Injury?

she's currently on Ice Partner Search

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

she's currently on Ice Partner Search

Looks like she may have a new partner:
Jamie Fournier / Everest Zhu, CPA de Boucherville Inc./CPA de Boucherville, Inc. QC

https://www.skateontario.org/results/NG24JULY/24NG-JrDance-EL.pdf

 

[Sylvia]

she's currently on Ice Partner Search

Chaima Ben Khelifa's IPS profile (last updated 6/14/23): http://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=7426

Everest Zhu (he) has a new partner.

ETA that I've noted the new dance teams registered for upcoming summer competitions in post #14 above.

 

[Dobre]

Looks like she may have a new partner:
Jamie Fournier / Everest Zhu, CPA de Boucherville Inc./CPA de Boucherville, Inc. QC

https://www.skateontario.org/results/NG24JULY/24NG-JrDance-EL.pdf

He has the new partner.

 

[coralline]

2023 NextGen Simulation Competition

2023 Skate Ontario Sectional Series - Orleans, ON - July 20-23, 2023


Quebec Summer Championships, August 10-13 in Pierrefonds (Canadian dance entries as of June 28):

May I ask are these three competitions open to viewers？Any tickets information？

 

[Sylvia]

May I ask are these three competitions open to viewers？Any tickets information？

Check out @shutterbug's event info links in the 2023 Canadian competitions thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/2023-canadian-may-september-competitions.110718/

ETA from the Quebec Summer Championships Announcement: "Spectator accreditation is free for this event."

Re. the Skate Ontario Sectional Series/NextGen comp.:
General Admission: $5.00 per day
Children under 5 years: free

 

[coralline]

Check out @shutterbug's event info links in the 2023 Canadian competitions thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/2023-canadian-may-september-competitions.110718/

ETA from the Quebec Summer Championships Announcement: "Spectator accreditation is free for this event."

Re. the Skate Ontario Sectional Series/NextGen comp.:
General Admission: $5.00 per day
Children under 5 years: free

Thank you so much！

 

[Sylvia]

Rob Brodie's article last month on Nadiia Bashynska & Peter Beaumont "based on a series of interviews done back in January [for IFS]" and updated after the initial GP assignments were published on June 28:

Meet the next big thing in Canadian ice dance

Soon enough, you'll get used to hearing all about Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont. But how their story started? That's quite the tale in itself

rwbrodiewrites.substack.com

Excerpt:

All of this has the duo enthused and eager about the prospect of moving up to the senior ranks next season (they recently released a clip of their new rhythm dance for 2023-24, which will be skated to “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS and Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys”). They are very aware of the decorated history of ice dance in Canada and cannot wait to blaze their own trail of success at the senior level.
“Competing in the big leagues means competing against people we’ve been admiring our whole lives. Honestly, right now saying feels kind of surreal,” said Bashynska. “It doesn’t feel like it’s actually going to happen.”
Bashynska and Beaumont learned on June 28 that their senior Grand Prix debut will come at the fifth stop of the Series, from Nov. 17-19 in Espoo, Finland.

 

[Sylvia]

Bringing this over here from the 2023-24 NextGen thread:
...
Jamie Fournier / Everest Zhu, CPA de Boucherville Inc./CPA de Boucherville, Inc. QC [new]

Ice Academy of Montreal announced them as a new Junior team today: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuj6Z6OLmH6/

 

[Sylvia]

Skate Mariposa (Barrie, ON) tweeted this today: https://twitter.com/SkateMariposa/status/1679490890581024768
"We are pleased to announce that Jr Ice Dancers Dana Sabatini-Speciale & Nicholas Buelow have been named to represent Skate Canada at the ISU Jr Grand Prix in Istanbul, Turkey." [JGP #3, Sept. 6-9]

 

[Sylvia]

May 5 in the 2022-23 Canadian Ice Dance news thread:

Alicia Fabbri shared an Instagram story clip (still up on I.AM's Insta stories) that showed her and Paul Ayer doing a sbs sliding split move to Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved."

I had forgotten when I posted the above that Fabbri/Ayer's FD music in their abbreviated 2022-23 season was "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi (with a bridge composed by Karl Hugo), choreographed by Marie-France Dubreuil.
F/A posted this clip ("Another year of exploring this Free Dance") 2 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CunG8gpMCPl/

 

[barbarafan]

May 5 in the 2022-23 Canadian Ice Dance news thread:

I had forgotten when I posted the above that Fabbri/Ayer's FD music in their abbreviated 2022-23 season was "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi (with a bridge composed by Karl Hugo), choreographed by Marie-France Dubreuil.
F/A posted this clip ("Another year of exploring this Free Dance") 2 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CunG8gpMCPl/

Amazing team and amazing program

 

[icedancefan!!]

Hi everyone! I have not been on here in a while, but I thought I would do a little recap on this past weekend's NextGen Competition!

1	Chloe Nguyen / Brendan Giang	Ice Palace FSC & Champs International Skating Centre of British Columbia	BC/YK	154.35	64.06	90.29
2	Dana Sabatini-Speciale / Nicholas Buelow	Toronto CS & CC & Barrie SC	ON	146.93	61.02	85.91
3	Savanna Martel / William Oddson	Calalta FSC & Huntington Hills SC	AB/NT/NU	135.28	57.31	77.97
4	Emma Goodstadt / Christian Bennett	Scarboro FSC & Scarboro FSC	ON	132.29	55.67	76.62
5	Layla Veillon / Alexander Frank Brandys	Ilderton SC & Ilderton SC	ON	132.09	50.12	81.97
6	Jamie Fournier / Everest Zhu	Club de patinage artistique de Boucherville inc. & Club de patinage des Deux-Rives	QC	126.68	48.76	77.92
7	Victoria Carandiuc / Andrei Carandiuc	Patinage Roussillon & Patinage Roussillon	QC	115.57	45.52	70.05
8	Charlotte Chung / Axel MacKenzie	Scarboro FSC & North Toronto SC	ON	108.28	45.22	63.06
9	Auréa Cincon-Debout / Earl Jesse Celestino	Club de patinage artistique de Ville Mont-Royal & Club de patinage artistique de Saint-Laurent	QC	106.83	45.47	61.36

I watched all of the programs for all teams (RD & FD) - here are my impressions:

• for a new team, Nguyen/Giang were quite strong. Not surprising since Giang did very well with Hailey Yu. I assume they will get at least 1, if not 2 JGPs.
• I was extremely impressed with Sabatini-Speciale/Buelow. Both programs were well done and their delivery seemed like it was already the middle of the season! I really liked the curve lift in their FD. Mariposa School of Skating announced that they were assigned to JGP#5 Turkey, so I think they will get a second JGP as well.
• Martel/Oddson did well too. Could have been aesthetically cleaner with some stuff but they are a new team as well so that will come with time.
• I liked Goodstadt/Bennett look. He has great performance ability and her extensions are shown well with her longer legs. Wonder if they will get a JGP since CAN has so many spots.
• I expected Veillon/Brandys to be better prepared... based on results from last season. Was not a huge fan of their music but it might just be my opinion. I personally liked their FD from last season better -- did not feel this year program is as intricate or entertaining, but, it is the beginning of the season.
• Fournier/Zhu seem like a good match for each other. Everest has a great showmanship on the ice. I think they have pretty good connection for a new team, so I am looking forward to seeing more.
• NOVICE TEAMS: A tiny bit disappointed, only because I had higher expectations for all of them. But, novice to junior is a big step so I'm sure they will all improve with time.

 

[Yyzskater]

Great summary. I totally agree with you regarding the novice teams. I was quite surprised that they sent a novice team to JGP #1 Bangkok before they saw them skate at the NextGen camp, especially when there are known teams that are significantly better. Novice Nationals was a little disappointing last year as the top teams seemed weaker than previous years and they continue to show it through Jr. But they have time to develop. Just seems like SC jumped the gun on sending them, especially when there are teams in the regular Junior dance comp that are stronger and may be added to the NextGen team.

 

[Sylvia]

... especially when there are teams in the regular Junior dance comp that are stronger and may be added to the NextGen team.

These were the scores of the top 4 teams (separate segments added together below; are they all ISU Junior age-eligible?):

Addison Pehl / Daniel Yu (new) Calalta FSC & Calalta FSC AB/NT/NU 52.65 (1) + 77.77 (2) = 130.42
Alisa Korneva / Kieran MacDonald [J7] Kitchener - Waterloo SC & Kitchener - Waterloo SC ON 48.74 (3) + 80.01 (1) = 128.75
Nicole Bolender / Aiden Dotzert [J12] Kitchener - Waterloo SC & Kitchener - Waterloo SC ON 49.98 (2) + 71.56 (5) = 121.54
Sophia Gover / Billy Wilson French (new) Barrie SC & Scarboro FSC ON 44.87 (5) + 74.33 (3) = 119.20

ETA the teams/skater that competed internationally last season for other countries: Tibau/Dawson (BRA), Roberts/Alis (ESP) and Hilda Taylor represented FIN last season with her Finnish partner (their last international ended on Feb. 24, 2023): http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00112845.htm